UMass wants to throw surprise party
Facing long odds against another high-profile program, one of the few weapons UMass coach Mark Whipple can throw at visiting Mississippi State at Gillette Stadium today is the uncertainty of whom will be his quarterback.
Currently, the Minutemen list redshirt sophomore Ross Comis No. 1 on the depth chart despite him missing last week’s 21-13 victory over Florida International at McGuirk Stadium due to a right shoulder injury. Fellow redshirt sophomore Andrew Ford, who engineered the win over the Panthers, is back to being slotted No. 2. Don’t bet against Whipple altering that order, playing just one, or alternating both. Anything to try and level the playing field against the more talented SEC team.
Ford, a southpaw, clicked with former high school teammate Adam Breneman for 10 receptions, 77 yards and a touchdown against FIU. The 6-foot-4 Breneman spent three injuryplagued campaigns at Penn State before transferring.
Ford drew his initial start after Comis was injured during UMass’ 26-7 loss to Boston College Sept. 10.
The scintillating performance by Ford sparked suggestions of a quarterback controversy. Whipple would have none of it yhis week.
“There’s always competition. We’ll see how the week goes,’’ said Whipple, adopting a Belichicklike stance. “(Comis) is a lot better (physically).’’
Last week, Ford was 28of-42 for 278 yards and three touchdowns, becoming the first UMass quarterback to toss three TDs in his first game since Todd Bankhead (323 yards, four TDs) at Delaware in 1998.
Whipple said the pregame strategy for FIU didn’t call for an Air Ford Attack.
“It was just the way the game was being played, with the 42 passes. We just tried to do what we could to win the game. I didn’t think we’d throw 42 times after the first one was picked,’’ he said. “It didn’t start off well but he really did a nice job. We have some base stuff in there (playbook) and we’ll probably rep that stuff a little more. Obviously, he has a real good feel for Adam (Breneman). Adam had a real good game and is playing with a lot of confidence right now.’’
Today marks the first-ever football meeting between UMass (1-2) and Mississippi State (1-2).
Whipple wryly said this week he hopes his Minutemen get to hold the football this afternoon. The Bulldogs have displayed balance with 1,137 yards of offense split at 585 rushing (24 first downs) and 552 passing (29 first downs), although coach Dan Mullen would like to see improvement in both areas.
Dynamic sophomore quarterback Nick Fitzgerald leads with 219 rushing yards (6.8 average) and paces the air game, hitting 31-of-56 passes for 298 yards and two touchdowns. The prime receiving target has been senior Fred Ross with 17 for 162 yards and two scores.
“They’re good. They’re playing in the best conference in the country,” Whipple said. “They’re well-coached. They have excellent players. They’re fast. They’re probably bigger than Florida (24-7 UMass loss). And, we’re not LSU. It’s hard when you look at their (game) tape. They’re a really good football team. We have to be on point this week. That’s our focus.”